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One problem is kids would rather flip burgers in air conditioning and goof around with other kids at work for $8/hr than crawl up in an attic full of insulation on a 90 degree day for $8/hr, even though they are learning a trade and can advance. An HVAC employer should expect a hard effort when it's nasty, but also allow the guys to enjoy the easy jobs when they come. When I was a teen laborer, I got rode like a rented mule for 8 hours a day every day and I only made $3.50 an hour with no benefits. The second I got caught up, my ass was thrown to another job where I could get whipped some more. What kid would do that these days? Kids have everything they ever wanted by the time they are 18 now. They aren't hungry like I was brought up to be, even though my parents made a very good living.

It's very tough finding good kids that really want to learn and see HVAC as an career field. It's hard to find good kids that express any interest in any career field. America, I'm afraid is headed straight for a horrid unskilled workforce especially when the baby boomers hang up their spurs which will be happening within the next 10 years in droves.

One would think with the economy the way it is that finding good entry-level people wouldn't be that hard but that doesn't seem to be the case. I have attributed a good deal of this to the lack of a true "shop" class in high schools now. Shop classes have largely been taken over by other elective courses like CAD which are great but I'd think CAD is still yet pretty limited where as courses introducing students to basic electrical, construction, maintenance, plumbing, refrigeration, and machining would be far more beneficial but alas too costly evidently.

"Gentlemen. You can't fight in here. This is the War Room!"-Dr. Strangelove (1964)

I feel so blessed as a 21 year old kid who was raised in my fathers HVAC business since i was 6. The worth ethic it has taught me is priceless. I used to get really upset with how hard my dad rode me when i didnt do something right, but am very thankful now that i know he was only doing it to make me better. I am now a perfectionist like he is.
I am in the supply house 15+ times a week and only see a handful of kids my age that are working. I was talking to a kid one night at the race track and after he asked me where i worked i asked him the same. This was his reply- "I am still in high school but i am thinking about being a fireman. I really just dont want to work that much". My friends have asked to work for my dad in the summer, but i know that they have no idea what they are getting into and wouldnt last a week. I look forward to work everyday and the different challenges it brings. I hope my generation can find the drive to get their hands dirty. Until then its not gonna be pretty when all the baby boomers start to go away.

Mike Rowe is awesome. I think he might be from Baltimore, too, which earns him extra points in my book.

Someone needs to stick up for people who work for a living. We can't all be CEOs or have wicked jump shots. Someone has to build and maintain the infrastructure for those who make a career out of producing NOTHING and are simply taking money from Person A and giving it to Person B.

This nation has a culture of laziness, apathy, and entitlement. It's people need to get back to making and building "stuff", instead of trying to mouse-click their way to prosperity and trying to find ways to get someone to pay you to do nothing.

Something that has to be done, yes. Something that someone should want to do, no.

That would be the guy you have to worry about weather he knows enough to come out before he has a heat stroke.

For me I like to think it built character having to do those kinds of jobs. Yes it was horrible but I look back at some of those old jobs like a badge of honor. Some of the stuff we did back in the day I wouldn't send guys in to do now. I rarely have to the "dirty work" anymore because of my role in my company. I'd say it was the dirty work that convinced me I needed to go back to college and make something of myself and that's exactly what I did...well sorta.

"Gentlemen. You can't fight in here. This is the War Room!"-Dr. Strangelove (1964)

The tough parts of this line of work is not the point.
The want that should drive one in a hot attic or freezing cold roof is to get the equipment fixed for the customer who is suffering. I want to do that for as long as I can. The focus needs to turn to what you are doing not what you are doing. Of course what pisses some of us off is some customers are really not suffering and should cowboy up